Family

Code 4

Code 6

ITIS

ILLUSTRATION

PHOTOS

CONSERVATION STATUS

The Common Ringed Plover’s breeding habitat is open ground and beach areas throughout northern Eurasia flatlands and the Arctic region of northeastern Canada. This species prefers little to no vegetation. Some members of the species will also breed inland and in northern France. Nests are scraped in the sand. During the winter months, the Common Ringed Plover migrates to coastal areas of South Africa. Those who live in Great Britain and northern France are typically year-round residents. This species forages for food such as insects, crustaceans and worms. They also eat food on the beach, or dine on organisms found in tidal flats and fields. The current conservation rating for the Common Ringed Plover is Least Concern.

Range and Habitat

Common Ringed Plover: In North America, this species breeds near the eastern, southern, and western coasts of Greenland, northeast Baffin Island, and the south coast of Ellesmere Island. Occasionally seen as a spring migrant on the Aleutian Islands and may linger to breed. Found on beaches, fields, and tidal flats.

Common Ringed Plover SONGS AND CALLS

Common Ringed Plover I1

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Display call is a "tu-wee-uh".

Common Ringed Plover S1

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Call is a whistled "tu-weea".

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"poo-ee"

INTERESTING FACTS

If a potential predator approaches its nest, the Common Ringed Plover will feign a broken wing to lure the intruder away.

It will sometimes use "foot-trembling" to stir up food and startle prey into movement.

Males tend to perform more nighttime egg incubation, while females incubate more during the day.

A group of plovers has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "congregation", "deceit", "ponderance" and "wing" of plovers.

RANGE MAP NORTH AMERICA

About this North America Map

RANGE MAP PALAU

About this Palau Map

This map shows how this species is distributed across the Palau islands.

FAMILY DESCRIPTION

Lapwings and Plovers (Charadriidae)

ORDER

The taxonomic order CHARADRIIFORMES (pronounced kah-RAH-dree-ih-FOR-meez) is composed of waterbirds such as the auks, gulls, long-toed Jacanas, and the plovers.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

In the lapwings and plovers family, Charadriidae (pronounced kar-ad-RYE-uh-dee), there are sixty-seven species in ten genera distributed nearly worldwide.

NORTH AMERICA

There are eighteen species of lapwings and plovers in three genera in North America. Members of this family include the well- known Killdeer, the pale Piping Plover, and the golden-plovers.

KNOWN FOR

The Killdeer is known for its distraction displays around its nest. Adult Killdeers noisily feign a broken wing to attract the attention of anyone or anything that comes too close to their nests.

PHYSICAL

Plovers are small birds with rounded, pigeon-like heads, long, pointed wings for fast flight, and except for the long-tailed Killdeer, short tails. They have fairly long legs with short toes and rather short bills.

COLORATION

Dull colors such as brown, gray, black, and white are the most frequent colors seen in lapwings and plovers plumages. Dark colors are usually found on the upperparts and white on the underparts with several species having black markings on the head and neck. Exceptions are the handsome breeding plumages of the Black-bellied Plover and golden-plovers (these show black on the underparts), and the Eurasian Dotterel with rufous underparts.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

The lapwing and plover family occurs throughout North America in non-forest habitats. The most common species, the Killdeer, occupies almost any sort of bare or sparsely vegetated ground from extensive lawns to parking lots and baseball fields. The Mountain Plover of the short grass prairie also prefers little vegetation but is much more particular in habitat choice and much less common. Other plover species occur in wet fields, beaches, mud flats, and salt pans.

MIGRATION

Plovers are mostly long distance migrants that winter from the southern United States to Argentina in South America.

HABITS

Lapwings and plovers form pairs during the breeding season, but occur in flocks during migration and winter. At all times of the year, members of this family have a distinctive mode of foraging whereby they take a few quick steps, then pause to stoop and pick an insect from the ground.

CONSERVATION

The Piping Plover is considered to be near threatened as its populations have declined in much of its range because of disturbance and development of the beaches, sandy shorelines, and sand bars this species requires.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Semipalmated Plover gets its name from having partially webbed feet, a feature this small bird makes use of by occasionally swimming in the water. The golden-plovers undertake incredible migrations; the Pacific Golden-Plover to Hawaii and other Pacific islands from its Alaskan breeding grounds, and the American Golden-Plover from the Arctic tundra to the pampas of Argentina.